Video: NASA icons blast Obama's space program plans

Transcript of: NASA icons blast Obama's space program plans

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:He is a genuine
American hero
.
Neil Armstrong
was the
first man on the moon
. And yet since those years he's receded into a
quiet life
in
America
. Even in our
celebrity
-driven era there's no
Neil Armstrong
action figure, no chain of restaurants. And while he's walked on the moon, he's never been tempted to dance with the stars. But
tonight
our veteran
space
correspondent
Jay Barbree
has exclusively obtained a
letter
written by
Neil Armstrong
and several other icons of the
space program
. It directly challenges
President Obama
's reported plans to idle the US manned
space program
. Astronauts
Armstrong
,
Jim Lovell
and
Gene Cernan
write, and we
quote
, "Without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the
USA
is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity." And on this anniversary of the
Apollo 13space disaster
, it's an emotional example of the kinds of choices a president and a nation must face. It's where we begin
tonight
with
NBC
's
Tom Costello
at the
Kennedy Space Center
in
Florida
. Tom, good
evening
.

TOM COSTELLO reporting:Hi
,
Brian
, good
evening
. As you know, the
shuttle program
is retiring this year. Another
program
,
Constellation
, was supposed to replace the
shuttle program
. However, an outside review panel found that that
program
,
Constellation
, was -- literally was running behind schedule and had been underfunded. So the president's plan essentially kills
Constellation
, at least in the short term, and with it potentially a lot of jobs so that
NASA
, instead, can focus on going to
Mars
.

Unidentified Man:All recorders to fast,
T-minus
eight...

COSTELLO:From the
Mercury
missions to
Gemini
,
Apollo
and the
space shuttle
,
NASA
has been launching astronauts into
space
for nearly 50 years...

Offscreen Voice #1:Go at throttle up.

COSTELLO:...leaving a legacy beyond moon and
space walks
, huge advancements in
computer technology
, communications and medicine. Now, some of
NASA
's icons are blasting
President Obama
's plans to abandon the next generation
Constellation
rocket
program
, in which
NASA
has already invested $10 billion, and hand over manned missions to the
space station
to
private companies
. In an unprecedented statement to
NBC News
,
Commanders Neil Armstrong
,
James Lovell
and
Gene Cernan
write that the plan "destines our nation to become one of second or even third-rate stature." While in a separate
letter
to
President Obama
, more of
NASA
's
space
heroes -- among them Carpenter,
Haise
and
Kranz
-- write, "We are very concerned about
America
ceding its hard-earned
global
leadership in
space technology
to other
nations
."

COSTELLO:NASA's new chief is veteran astronaut
Charles Bolden
.

General CHARLES BOLDEN:We have to take bold
steps
. We are a bold nation.

COSTELLO:But
General Bolden
ran into trouble recently when he told
Congress
, "It doesn't matter if
China
lands on the moon before the US returns."

Gen. BOLDEN:It will sound trivial, but I don't think it matters who gets...

Representative FRANK WOLF (Republican, Virginia):Well, it does to me. It does to me, and I think it matters, with all respect, to a lot of
Americans
.

COSTELLO:With the shuttle retiring this year,
NASA
will pay
Russia
to take astronauts to the orbiting
space station
for years to come. Losing both the shuttle and
Constellation
programs means losing jobs. Depending on who you ask, anywhere from five to 9,000 jobs here in
Florida
are on the line, potentially tens of thousands of jobs nationwide, many of them speciality jobs, like aerospace technician
Patti Sunderland
.

Ms. PATTI SUNDERLAND:I'm sad. I'm angry on days, frustrated a lot.

COSTELLO:Florida
Senator
Bill Nelson
, a Democrat and former astronaut, says
President Obama
will pay a big political price in
Florida
if thousands of
space
jobs are lost. Was this a failure to communicate, or was it a failure of policy and vision?

Senator BILL NELSON:It was a combination. It is my hope that the president understands that the only person that can really lead the nation's human
space program
is the president.

COSTELLO:The White House
told us late today that it will announce new details this week, when the president is here on Thursday, that very well may change the minds of some of these astronauts, and it also reminds us that former astronaut
Apollo 11
astronaut
Buzz Aldrin
is on
board
and supports the president's
program
. But the president may get a chilly
reception
here in
Florida
. For a lot of people here, this is all about jobs.
Brian
:

WILLIAMS:Tom Costello
at the
Kennedy Space Center
in
Florida
. Tom, thanks. And, again, this
letter
has been provided to
NBC News
exclusively. We have posted it on our
Web sitetonight
. That's nightly.msnbc.com.

Editor's note: In an open letter obtained by NBC's Jay Barbree, former astronauts Neil Armstrong, James Lovell and Eugene Cernan urge President Obama to reconsider what they warn would be "devastating" new policies for the future of NASA.

The United States entered into the challenge of space exploration under President Eisenhower’s first term, however, it was the Soviet Union who excelled in those early years. Under the bold vision of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, and with the overwhelming approval of the American people, we rapidly closed the gap in the final third; of the 20th century, and became the world leader in space exploration.

America’s space accomplishments earned the respect and admiration of the world. Science probes were unlocking the secrets of the cosmos; space technology was providing instantaneous worldwide communication; orbital sentinels were helping man understand the vagaries of nature. Above all else, the people around the world were inspired by the human exploration of space and the expanding of man’s frontier. It suggested that what had been thought to be impossible was now within reach. Students were inspired to prepare themselves to be a part of this new age. No government program in modern history has been so effective in motivating the young to do “what has never been done before.”

World leadership in space was not achieved easily. In the first half-century of the space age, our country made a significant financial investment, thousands of Americans dedicated themselves to the effort, and some gave their lives to achieve the dream of a nation. In the latter part of the first half century of the space age, Americans and their international partners focused primarily on exploiting the near frontiers of space with the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.

As a result of the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003, it was concluded that our space policy required a new strategic vision. Extensive studies and analysis led to this new mandate: meet our existing commitments, return to our exploration roots, return to the moon, and prepare to venture further outward to the asteroids and to Mars. The program was named "Constellation." In the ensuing years, this plan was endorsed by two Presidents of different parties and approved by both Democratic and Republican congresses.

The Columbia Accident Board had given NASA a number of recommendations fundamental to the Constellation architecture which were duly incorporated. The Ares rocket family was patterned after the Von Braun Modular concept so essential to the success of the Saturn 1B and the Saturn 5. A number of components in the Ares 1 rocket would become the foundation of the very large heavy lift Ares V, thus reducing the total development costs substantially. After the Ares 1 becomes operational, the only major new components necessary for the Ares V would be the larger propellant tanks to support the heavy lift requirements.

The design and the production of the flight components and infrastructure to implement this vision was well underway. Detailed planning of all the major sectors of the program had begun. Enthusiasm within NASA and throughout the country was very high.

When President Obama recently released his budget for NASA, he proposed a slight increase in total funding, substantial research and technology development, an extension of the International Space Station operation until 2020, long range planning for a new but undefined heavy lift rocket and significant funding for the development of commercial access to low earth orbit.

Although some of these proposals have merit, the accompanying decision to cancel the Constellation program, its Ares 1 and Ares V rockets, and the Orion spacecraft, is devastating.

America’s only path to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station will now be subject to an agreement with Russia to purchase space on their Soyuz (at a price of over 50 million dollars per seat with significant increases expected in the near future) until we have the capacity to provide transportation for ourselves. The availability of a commercial transport to orbit as envisioned in the President’s proposal cannot be predicted with any certainty, but is likely to take substantially longer and be more expensive than we would hope.

It appears that we will have wasted our current $10-plus billion investment in Constellation and, equally importantly, we will have lost the many years required to recreate the equivalent of what we will have discarded.

For The United States, the leading space faring nation for nearly half a century, to be without carriage to low Earth orbit and with no human exploration capability to go beyond Earth orbit for an indeterminate time into the future, destines our nation to become one of second or even third rate stature. While the President's plan envisages humans traveling away from Earth and perhaps toward Mars at some time in the future, the lack of developed rockets and spacecraft will assure that ability will not be available for many years.

Without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity. America must decide if it wishes to remain a leader in space. If it does, we should institute a program which will give us the very best chance of achieving that goal.